20 Girls, Four nights/Five Days in the snowy mountain resort! Sounds like the mini version of Tween Real World! Sounds challenging and scary but boy oh boy... It was the complete opposite! Let's start from the beginning.....
Over the course of January, 20 girls had the opportunity to be a part of a group called "Girls Bonding". Girls Bonding consisted of building healthy relationships, understanding girl drama and how to handle it, puberty, social media issues, self confidence, self image, self worth, self love, self care, finding your voice & using it and the list goes on....
Retreat week was their incentive to celebrate the courageous acts they displayed throughout the month. The girls dug deep within those emotions and feelings. It wasn't easy at first as they were being shy and short with responses but that's what building trust is about. By week 2, they broke down their walls and got real with themselves and each other. The realest statement that came out of Girls Bonding was "I didn't know other girls felt the same hurt as me. I'm happy I'm not alone in this".
Too much laughter, tears, support and building unbreakable bonds were just some of the few things they took away from the group.
The realest statement that came out of Girls Bonding was "I didn't know other girls felt the same hurt as me. I'm happy I'm not alone in this".
The girls were learning multiple ways on how to support one another. During the retreat, they had FOUR main assignments..
1. Partner Karaoke: Find a song that calls your name. You must connect to the song. It should describe something you are currently facing or have previously dealt with.
2. Write a supportive letter to your peer. The girls sat in a classroom for weeks learning all about their peers and some of the hurt they've been carrying around. They wrote a supportive letter to their assigned peer and read it aloud to her. Ending goal was to have the peer understand that although you are facing this particular hardship right now, you have someone there for you. It also offered suggestions and tips on how to work through the situation.
3. Face a Fear... So whether it was joining me on an extremely high water slide, climbing the ropes course, snow tubing, attempting to swim and allowing a buddy to assist or simply opening up in karaoke, all girls were to face a fear with each other.
4. Prepare lunch and dinner for one another with the assistance of chaperones. Who knew 11 & 12 year old girls can cook? They brought their ingredients to cook cultural dishes for one another and it was amazing.
All assignments were completed and passed with flying colors.
In a school setting, it's usually difficult to learn the real story and persona of our students. This project allowed us to really meet 20 girls while also allowing them to connect with their true selves. We ended retreat week with discussing one thing they are taking away from a week long trip..
Week 4 is the closing week and you'll learn more about how we ended Girls Bonding in the following post!
-Jenna